The Girl From Ilvermorny
by Ethan-Silas
Summary: Valyn Malfoy transfers from Ilvermorny to Hogwarts in her final school year, making friends, foes, and a lover in the process. Beta read by LadyHallows, updated on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.
1. Chapter 1

Beta read by LadyHallows

The Great Hall was a beautiful room, Valyn thought, but she could not appreciate it for the nerves vibrating throughout her body. It was a chilly, rainy day, and while the inside of the castle was warm, the enchantment on the ceiling that showed the night sky above tricked her brain into feeling cold and melancholy. She sat on a tiny stool, her long, slender 17 year old body perched atop it like a bird on a tree branch. She hugged herself, thin thumbs rubbing the goosebumps that covered her olive arms, the small, thin, white hairs standing straight up. She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, softly, as the old man dropped the tattered brown hat upon her head gently.

 **Hm… I wonder…** The strange voice sounded in her head made her uneasy, and she shifted uncomfortably. **You're quite bold, but still, Gryffindor wouldn't be good for you, no… Kind and fair, but also very hot headed… You wouldn't be out of place in Hufflepuff, but that temper… I think we'll put that option on the back burner, yes? Ravenclaw… You're creative, and you crave knowledge, you're quite witty… But you're also quite ambitious, and very cunning indeed. Not particularly shrewd, but resourceful and clever, very strong sense of self-preservation… Yes, that's it- "SLYTHERIN!"**

Valyn exhaled, brow furrowed, very unsure of what just happened. Slytherin… That was the House Lucius and Uncle Abraxas were in. Valyn stood, taking off the hat, and handed it back to Dumbledore, who smiled her way,

"Congratulations, Valyn. I'm sure you will feel very at home in your new House," he started walking, swaying gracefully along with a small, content smile on his face, eyes twinkling behind half-moon glasses. He put a hand behind her arm to move her along, and she tentatively walked forward, mind all but completely blank.

"Normally, I'd call a prefect to escort you, but I'm sure Lucius would be more than happy to show you to your dorm," Dumbledore opened the large door as they approached it with a flick of his wrist. Valyn tentatively smiled at Lucius, who nodded, warmth in his silver eyes. She felt her shoulders relax at the sight of her cousin, and looped her arm with his as her and the Headmaster closed the distance between him and her family.

"Well?" Lucius asked the girl brightly.

"Slytherin," Valyn found a surprising bit of pride in her voice as she spoke, despite hardly understanding her House. Lucius smiled at her and she beamed back at him.

"Good," Abraxas said, nodding. Valyn smiled his way, as well.

"Abraxas," Dumbledore said, and the man glanced at the Gryffindor as if he were a lion acknowledging a fly. "I'll need a few more words with you, if you would, in my office."

Abraxas nodded cordially. "Very well, then."

"And Lucius, would you like to show Valyn to the Slytherin dungeons?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'd be more than happy to," Lucius obliged, beginning to escort Valyn away.

On the walk, her relief at seeing her cousin quickly faded as the worry about the new school, her disdain for missing out on a final year at Ilvermorny, and- the thing she'd least want to deal with- grief consumed her once more.

"Everything will be alright," Lucius said a time later. Valyn looked at him, his soft expression. "I know you miss Ilvermorny, and I know you miss your father, and believe me when I say I'm quite sorry about all that. But you'll have a good time here; you'll learn what you need to in order to succeed; and you'll have ample opportunity to do with your life as you will. Try to focus on that instead of dwelling on what you're unable to change."

Valyn thought on that a moment. She knew, logically, that he was right, of course. Not only was it unhealthy, but her father wouldn't want her to throw her life away. And she knew she would move on and heal- she already had been, for six whole months- but she, apparently, needed a bit more time.

He was her father, after all, and the only thing she'd had.

Lucius did a strange order of knocks on the wall, and it tentatively faded into invisibility. Several students were in the common room, but not enough to be a cause for nerves. At the sight of Lucius, however, a well-known man, respected, and recently graduated Slytherin, a girl probably Valyn's age rushed to open the door.

"Dolores," Lucius said, somehow cordial and cruel all at once. The girl said nothing. "You're in your seventh year, yes?"

"Yes," she said. Valyn looked at her; a short, round woman whose face most closely resembled a toad wore a loose, open robe that shone a too-pink outfit beneath it.

"This is my cousin, Valyn. She's just transferred to Hogwarts from Ilvermorny and has been Sorted into Slytherin- of course. Do show her to the girl's dormitory." He looked down the bridge of his nose at her, and she nodded. Valyn embraced her cousin, arms around his abdomen, and he gently hugged her back.

"Do write often, Val," he said quietly into her ear. She nodded.

"Of course," she whispered, before reluctantly pulling away, "send your father my goodbyes,"

"I will," Lucius said, glanced over Dolores once more, and then gracefully left the common room. Without a word, Dolores led Valyn to a winding staircase, walking slowly up it. Valyn glanced around the room; it was mainly stone, with emerald and grey furnishings, windows peering out to the bottom of the lake, which was so very dark, living true to its name.

It was a beautiful room, she thought, just as she left it. Dolores motioned to the door before turning back, returning to the common room, and Valyn walked in.

Five beautiful beds stood tall in the room, three of which had the drapes drawn and were presumably occupied. Two House Elves were cleaning up the floor. Two empty beds were left, one apparently belonging to Dolores, much to Valyn's annoyance, and the other to Valyn. Her pet pygmy dragon, Attor, whom Valyn had been surprised was allowed in, stood proudly and contently on the suitcase that sat on her bed. Valyn stroked his head affectionately before easing him off the suitcase to quietly unpack. Once the Elves had left, she changed into her pajamas, laying thoughtlessly on the bed. Attor curled up on her chest, and she pet him absentmindedly.

She was very tired, but she couldn't muster up the will to close her eyes, instead staring up at the top of her drapes. Eventually, she found it in her to flick her wrist, causing the curtains to fall closed around her. She turned and cuddled the small dragon in her arms, who nuzzled her gently with his long, smooth snout.

Seventeen years old.

Valyn was an adult.

In fact, she was almost eighteen- almost an adult by No-Maj (or Muggle, as they called it here in Britain) standards.

She was an adult, but she hardly felt like one.

She'd been told all her life how mature she was for her age, by her father and then by her teachers, but right then, Valyn felt like she was eleven years old again. In an unfamiliar place, a new bed, all alone, not a friend to her name, her father gone… Only now, her father wasn't simply at home a few states away. Her father was dead.

Tears stung her eyes and she closed them, but they fell anyway.

She knew she wouldn't be able to avoid thinking about him for long, but she'd hoped to. Everytime she thought of him, her heart throbbed and her head ached and her whole body went numb. He'd been a wonderful father, a wonderful man, and a wonderful friend. He'd been the only thing, the only person, the only anything Valyn had ever had, had ever been important to.

They'd grown up poor, after her father had been all but formally disowned, in a glorified shack her father had built himself. Her mother had died in childbirth, and it had been just them for so long. Her dad got a job cleaning up dragon dung at a dragon reserve and slowly worked his way up the ranks to be the world famous dragon tamer he was when he died.

He was everything to Valyn, what everyone should aspire to be like. And he was so kind, and understanding, well-read, good at teaching people things without being condescending. He was patient, understanding, gentle… Valyn fought to keep her crying silent.

She felt Attor struggling to twist towards her so she loosed her arms, realising she'd perhaps tightened her grip, and he tried to comfort her. She smiled sadly at him.

She'd gotten him when she was eleven, before she started school. Her father had brought Valyn along to New Zealand to help tame an Antipodean Opaleye that wasn't particularly fond of avoiding the No-Majes.

It turned out that someone had stolen an egg of hers, and when she found this out after her father had found the egg, she swooped in to attack. Luckily, the hermit who'd stolen it was far from any civilization and her father was able to restrain the dragon and call for help, taking her to captivity in New Zealand. The egg, pygmied due to lack of heat after the No-Maj had stolen it, wasn't accepted by the reserve in New Zealand, as pygmies rarely survive, especially when born from full-sized dragons, so her father let her keep the dragon. A week later, back at home in Michigan, the egg hatched, and a slightly deformed baby Attor was born.

The long trail of spikes that lined the species' spine was too long for Attor's small, cat-sized body, and while Attor had adapted to them for the most part, he'd been born with one that had been the same length of his newborn body. He'd had to have surgery to remove it, and as a Christmas gift, her father had had the tendril made into the wand Valyn had still; a rather short, eight inch wand, unyielding flexibility, made of hawthorn wood. Her father had paid Thiago Quintana a lot of money to custom make the wand, which was very unlike his usual wands. She absentmindedly rubbed the wand that was always strapped to her thigh, feeling the smooth wood. It was barely longer than her hand, and it curved into a crescent shape. The wood was tan and beautiful against her fingers.

Valyn wiped her eyes and pet Attor some more, finally finding herself being pulled into sleep.

Beta read by LadyHallows


	2. Chapter 2

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Valyn awoke to Attor poking and prodding her with his snout.

"I'm up, I'm awake," she muttered quietly, before remembering that there were other girls in the room and blushing red. She sat up and pulled the outfit she'd set out last night inside the curtains, getting dressed into long, chestnut flared pants, a yellow psychedelic polyester button down blouse, and a tan suede jacket. She pulled on plain white socks and stepped into brown loafers, standing up to see the other girls still getting dressed. Valyn waved her wand and silently tied back the emerald drapes for her bed.

Attor handed her her hair brush, and she gently brushed out her straight, shoulder-length hair that was parted down the middle.

Valyn appraised the four other girls in the room as she slowly brushed her thick, white-blonde hair. Dolores was closest to her, in the corner, already dressed into another atrociously pink outfit and styling her short hair into curls in the mirror above her thin, tall dresser.

On the other side of Valyn, in the one bed against the wall across the exit, was a girl a few inches shorter than Valyn's tall 5'9". She had pale white skin and long, thick black hair. She wore a long, plain back dress with long sleeves, fitted around the waist but loose and straight in the skirt. It had a collar and about three unbuttoned buttons. She, too, peered into the mirror above her dresser, but her long hair had already styled in waves around her face. Her dark eyes were surrounded in black makeup, and she was rubbing black lipstick onto her thick lips. She had long, black nails.

Beside her, directly across from Valyn, was a girl whose face, height, and weight were identical to the dark girl, but she had very short, light blonde hair, skin only slightly less tan than Valyn's. She wore an ice blue mini dress with short sleeves and large white buttons down the front, a pocket on either side, ivory nylons, and gogo boots. Valyn could see the blue in her eyes from ten feet away as she peered into her own mirror, adjusting the short hair over her forehead. She had dark liner over her eyes and dark in the creases of her eyes, though her actual lids were the same as her skin, only shimmery. Tan blush made her cheeks pop, and her lips were painted the same color as her skin. She had fingertip-length nails with a french manicure on them.

Beside her, across from Dolores, was yet another girl nearly identical to the others, though her skin was somewhere between her sisters', her hair just past her chin, a bright orange color, bangs falling just above her eyebrows. Her eyes seemed to be hazel. She stood between her own bed and her blonde sister's, wearing an orange jumpsuit with a red belt around her waist and red ballet flats. Her eyes had mild orange shadow and long, dark lashes, her lips were painted red, and she had short red nails.

The redhead caught her looking at her and smiled brightly. "Hey, new girl," she said in a fancy, sophisticated accent, just like Lucius'. Valyn smiled and set her brush down, then met the girl's eye again.

"Hello. I'm Valyn Malfoy," she introduced herself. The redhead smiled even brighter. She was really quite beautiful.

"Nice to meet you, Valyn! I'm Aithne (Etna) Parkinson. This is my sister, Cordelia," Aithne motioned to the blonde, who smiled through the mirror. Valyn smiled and waved. "And this is my sister, Breukelen." She motioned to the dark sister, who had turned and was looking Valyn over with a critical eye. Valyn gave her a tentative smile, and she nodded in return. She turned and started rooting through her dresser, and Valyn cast a glance to Dolores, who met her eye only to then rush out of the room.

"What's up with her?" Valyn asked after the door had closed.

"Oh." Aithne said, looking at the door half-heartedly. "We don't really like her."

"Oh," Valyn said, deciding not to think much about that; her initial perception of the girl hadn't been exactly great either.

Attor flew onto Valyn shoulder and she stroked the underside of his chin. "Oh, this is Attor, by the way."

Breukelen looked at Attor with mild interest. "I can't believe they let you bring a dragon."

"It's just a pygmy," Cordelia rebutted, standing and turning, leaning back.

"Yeah. He can't even breathe fire," Valyn said, then fondly kissed Attor on the snout.

"What kind is he?" Breukelen asked.

"Antipodean Opaleye," Valyn replied.

"Cool," Breukelen said, stepping forward, eyes still on Attor, who peered curiously back at her.

"We should get going soon," Cordelia said, and they began moving. Valyn grabbed her robe and followed as the girls began discussing their schedules.

"What electives are you taking, Val?" Aithne asked as they descended the stairs.

"Uh, Divination, Arithmancy, and Study of Ancient Runes. You guys?"

"I'm Runes and Divination," Aithne said. "Though I hate Divination, I'd rather take it than any of the others."

"I've got Arithmancy and Alchemy," Breukelen added.

"I take SoAR and CoMC." Cordelia said.

"What?" Valyn asked.

"Runes and Care of Magical Creatures, sorry."

"Oh, alright." Valyn felt a little dumb as the girls walked through the now heavily trafficked common room.

"Holy shit," a male's voice said from behind her. The girls turned to see an attractive blonde boy coming towards them, with light, lime green eyes and a bright, playful smile. "That's a fucking dragon."

"Where?" Aithne asked sarcastically, and he grinned at her.

"Haha, Aithne, you're _so_ funny and clever," he said before offering Valyn his hand. "Hey, I'm Evan Rosier."

Valyn smiled and shook his hand, introducing herself.

"What a lovely name," he said, gently kissing her hand. She smiled before taking her hand back.

Another boy joined their group, a handsome one their age with short, curly, slicked back black hair. He was pale with medium grey eyes, a hooked nose, handsome in appearance. He had and air of royalty about him, carrying himself like a prince, walking tall, proud ahead. He met her eye and nodded.

"Hello," Valyn said quietly.

"Hello." He said in a deep voice.

"I'm Valyn Malfoy."

"Regulus Black."

The group walked on, Evan and Aithne bickering playfully, Breukelen and Cordelia talking about their schedules, and Valyn and Regulus quiet. Valyn found herself moving more towards the boy, finding his quiet company more inviting. They made their way to the Great Hall, Attor soon growing restless and hopping down onto the floor to scurry ahead beside her, often falling behind and having to hop and flap his wings to keep up.

Once they were closer to the Great Hall, however, Breukelen announced that she needed to use the lavatory, and asked Valyn to wait for her, which she happily did, leaning against the wall beside the door. Attor began wandering, and Valyn let him, but she kept a close eye as he quickly pattered across the floor.

"Oi," she heard behind her and she startled, letting out a loud, alarmed yelp, hands flying up. Blushing red, she looked to see a group of four boys rounding the corner. After a moment she heard a loud buzzing around her head and swatted something, earning another, more offended 'oi!' from one of the boys.

A pale hand snatched something out of the air beside her just as Attor landed on her shoulder. He then held it still, and Valyn saw what it was; a golden snitch. She glanced over the handsome boy, who was her height, with porcelain skin, pretty hazel eyes, bushy eyebrows, and dark, messy curls. He wore a blue jean jacket above a red shirt with blue dots which was tucked into brown slacks, baring a blue belt, and blue suede loafers. Large, square glasses sat perched on his nose. "Sorry about that," he said with a toothy grin.

Valyn glanced to the rest of the boys; a short blond boy in a loose royal blue polyester button down and maroon pants, a black belt and black shoes. His shiny golden hair was cut into a bowl cut, and a few light hairs were growing out of his top lip. His eyes were dull blue, tinted grey, and light freckles dotted every inch of visible skin. He briefly met Valyn's gaze before his chubby cheeks turned pink and he quickly looked away.

The next boy she saw was a several inches taller than her; 6'2, maybe 6'3. He had wavy brown hair that fell into his eyes. His swarthy skin was oily and mostly covered in red acne, his dull olive eyes small but bright. He had light scars running across his face, though from what, Valyn had no clue. Perhaps acne scars in a strangely linear pattern? He wore a loose, worn olive knit sweater, green plaid trousers, and black loafers. His pants were too short, however, and colorful socks poked out from below. A black satchel was slung across his abdomen.

Then, Valyn made eye contact with the last boy. His eyes were a striking grey, his skin pale and smooth and utterly handsome, a brooding expression covering it. Curly black hair hung almost to his shoulders. He was a couple inches taller than the boy with the scars, and then Valyn realized he looked _exactly_ like Regulus. He wore a Black Sabbath shirt beneath a metal-covered leather jacket, torn black jeans hugging muscular legs. He wore worn but nice-quality leather boots. He was taller than Regulus, and built thicker, stronger. Valyn looked back up to his face.

"You're…" Valyn smiled, looking between them, reaching up to pet Attor. "An odd bunch."

The punk's head tipped back, eyes narrowing. The first boy grinned proudly, rolling the snitch easily between his fingers. The blond sort of started fidgeting, adjusting his sleeves and ruffling his hair nervously. The tanned boy got a small smile, eyes on the floor at Valyn's feet.

Just then, the door behind Valyn opened, and she almost jumped again. The dark girl groaned loudly when she saw the boys, "I can't believe you're bothering her," then, she made eye contact with Valyn. "Ignore them. They're naught but nothings."

"We're not nothings," The tan boy insisted. Breukelen glared at him. "We're everything," he grinned out. Val gave him a small smile, and he outstretched his hand, taking hers in it and kissing it. "M'lady, the name's James. James Potter."

Valyn laughed softly. "Nice to make your acquaintance. I'm Valyn Malfoy."

The punk snorted derisively. "A Malfoy, of course. You've got _that_ look," he sneered, giving her a one over, and she straightened proudly, raising her chin pompously.

"This is Sirius Orion Black, the third-" James began before Sirius Orion Black, the third interrupted.

"You're an out and out wanker," he growled.

"And you're an in and out wanker," James replied brightly, Valyn raised a confused brow, and James looked back at Valyn. "This scrawny lad is Remus Lupin," He grunted hello in a northern british accent, and Valyn nodded her hello. "And this unfortunately endowed bloke over there is Peter Pettigrew." Peter stuck his tongue out at the boy, glanced at Valyn before quickly looking back away, and smiled. Valyn smiled back, though she wasn't sure he could see it.

"Yes, yes. Are we done now?" Breukelen interrupted.

"Yes," Sirius insisted, leading his friends away. James grinned behind him, waving, and with a small smile, Valyn waved back.

"You should do your best to avoid them," Breukelen said, leading Valyn to the Great Hall. "But try even harder not to piss them off."

"Why?" Valyn asked.

"They're not particularly nice to people who do."

Valyn, absolutely confused by the vague answer, simply sat at the Slytherin table, between Breukelen and Regulus, across from Evan. Cordelia and Aithne sat to his left, and three boys to his right.

"Val, this is Snape, Nott, and Avery," Evan said. Valyn exchanged niceties before beginning to feed her dragon over her shoulder, as well as herself.

After breakfast, The seventh years Slytherins- excluding Dolores, who apparently was very much not welcome, as Valyn didn't see her anywhere- made their way to the charms classroom. There was a note on a chalkboard telling them to pair up, and so they did; Evan with Regulus, Breukelen with Cordelia, Avery with Nott, and then there were only Aithne, Valyn, and Snape.

"Okay, so. I know Sev doesn't like Dipita at all, but he's about the only one one of us can pair up with, so you guys go together and I'll go with him, okay?" Valyn nodded, suddenly feeling very nervous, but smiled as Aithne walked away. She sat nervously next to Severus, who looked like he would rather be anywhere else.

"I'm sorry," Valyn said suddenly, nerves fluttering through her. Snape glanced at her through the long hair that hid his lon face.

"For?"

"I'm sure you'd much rather be working with your friends than with me," Valyn said, reaching up to pet Attor absentmindedly.

"No, its fine," Snape said uncomfortably, shifting in his seat, "uh, what's your favorite sort of magic?" He asked quietly. Valyn tapped her fingers along Attor's spine.

"I like charms a lot, actually. It's really magnificent. Runes is definitely a close second, but I like everything. You?" Valyn glanced over at him to see his face turned towards her, though his eyes were slightly averted. He seemed just as uncomfortable talking to strangers as Valyn was.

"Potions is my favorite, but I like learning about the Dark Arts as well," Snape said. Interest flooded Valyn.

"Yeah? It's such a strange and interesting branch of magic. People act like it's something innately evil and harmful, but you can use any sort of magic in any way, good or bad," Valyn said, feeling mildly awkward but happy to be talking to the boy.

He lit up at her words, finally making eye contact with her. "I know. It's absolutely ridiculous."

He seemed to be looking for something more to say, but as he struggled to find something, his face seemed to grow more and more agitated with himself.

Luckily, however, the professor walked in and began to introduce Valyn to the class, himself to her, and the year's curiculum to everyone. He had them practice spells with their partners for most of class, 'getting the rust off', as he called it, and Valyn saw that Snape was very adept at magic and hoped she seemed to be that way, too. She'd hopefully made another friend, something she'd never actually been successful at before... Maybe Hogwarts would be much better for her than Ilvermorny.

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	3. Chapter 3

Beta read by LadyHallows

The rest of the day was a blur.

It seemed that everyone- except Avery and Nott, who didn't seem to talk to anyone but themselves and Snape particularly often- was comfortable enough with her to ask her a million questions at lunch. Luckily, however, she was confident enough with them to only be moderately uncomfortable. She told them what Ilvermorny had been like, what Pukwudgies were, the differences between the Sorting ceremonies, how students were required to leave their wands at the school over the summer, how the Houses seemed much more unified than at Hogwarts… They asked a few questions about why she came here and what her father was like, but they seemed to catch on that she didn't really want to talk about that.

After lunch, she had SoAR with Aithne, Cordelia, and Snape, which she thoroughly enjoyed. The professor first gave them a test to see how much they knew, and Aithne copied off of Valyn, but she didn't really mind. There was an interlude between then and the last class, and Valyn took a short walk before heading to transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs, where she luckily ended up in between Aithne and Regulus.

Next was just dinner, but Valyn was hardly hungry, so she walked around the giant room outside the Great Hall waiting for her friends, quietly playing with Attor and watching him soar through the sky. Shortly before dinner was meant to end, however, the four boys from before came out the Hall, all huddled together.

They looked a lot different, alone and together, save James; he was quite the same grinning, playful bloke he'd been. Remus, however, seemed very invested in their conversation and also looked like he was contributing a lot more than the occasional grunt. Peter was beaming and lively, and though Valyn couldn't hear them from where she was, he seemed to absolutely love whatever they were discussing.

And, Sirius. He still stood tall and mysterious, but he had an impressive, devilish smile that only made his face more devastatingly handsome. He walked with a swagger, as he had before, but less intimidating and more… Je ne sais quoi. He had a booming laugh that roared every once and a while, though their conversation ended before the boys were close enough for Valyn to here it. Peter quieted once more, Remus was still smiling but staring directly at the ground, and Sirius' face grew guarded and distant.

James, however, grinned her way and plopped down beside her. The other boys stood before them, and Sirius rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. Attor, seeing a new perch, hopped onto his arm, causing Valyn to instantly apologize and go to retrieve her pet, but the dragon hopped onto Sirius' shoulder to avoid it.

"S'fine," Sirius muttered, watching the dragon with a less severe look than he'd had moments ago.

"O-okay," Valyn said before sitting back down.

James beamed, reclining against the stone statue they sat on the side of. "What's up, Val?"

"Nothing, just waiting for-" For what? Her friends? Were they friends yet? Valyn had no knowledge on the subject, so she simply trailed off, biting her lip nervously and rubbing her hands together.

"You've an odd taste in friends, if you ask me," James insisted, eying the room they'd just exited. Valyn tensed, suddenly defensive.

"What makes you say that?" she demanded, chin tilting up as she looked at James. The boy simply shrugged and looked to the side.

They sat and stood there, silent, before Valyn thought of something to say. "So, uh, what House are you in?"

"We're Gryffindors," James said proudly. Valyn nodded, trying to remember what the Hat had said about Gryffindor.

"So you're, ah, bold, is it?" She asked before eyeing Remus and Peter.

"Brave, mainly." James corrected."Brave, bold, determined, hard-working, courageous, chivalrous, daring." Valyn giggled at him, and her looked at her, still smiling, brow raising.

"Think it's funny, do you?" Sirius demanded, sounding a bit annoyed. She turned to see him petting Attor, but he was a bit tense. Valyn got the sense he didn't much like her.

"What?"

"You laughed," Sirius sounded as if he were talking to an idiot, and Valyn grew red.

"That's not what I meant," she insisted, shifting in her seat, rubbing her arm.

Eyes rolling, Sirius said "That's generally what laughing means."

More awkward silence. Valyn watched Sirius play with Attor, bringing him from shoulder to shoulder, petting him and bopping him on the nose, which she couldn't help but think was rather sweet.

"So, um…" Valyn swallowed. "Where's your common room at? I hope they're not all in the dungeons…"

"Nah, we've got our own tower. The common room's on the seventh floor." James said.

"And the... Hufflepuffs?"

"Near the kitchens, or in them, or something."

Valyn took a moment to remember the fourth House. "Ravenclaws?"

"Near the Charms class." James said, fiddling with his shoe.

"Frank Longbottom says you have to answer a riddle to get in, which is weird." Peter Pettigrew spoke up. Valyn nodded, all out of things to say.

"Well, we should get going," Sirius insisted after a bit, setting Attor down into Valyn's lap. She petted him.

"Where're you headed?" Valyn asked.

"The common room," James answered, standing and following his walking friends."

"Okay," the girl said, nervously walking along with them, moving her pet to her shoulder. Her legs had started to ache from all the stairs by the time they reached it; a large portrait of a woman in pink.

"Sesquipedalian," James said.

"You fucking pillock," Sirius snapped, "the Slytherin's still here."

"I'll just, get going then," Val said, before turning and rushing off without a response.

People had just gotten out of the Great Hall when Valyn and Attor arrived back outside of it.

"Hey," Valyn said when she saw her friends, standing between Breukelen as they all began to head towards the Slytherin dungeons.

"So who are those four boys? Sirius, James, Remus and Peter?" Valyn asked.

Breukelen rolled her dark eyes, anger immediately filling her pretty face. "They're absolutely repugnant. Call themselves, 'the Marauders," Breukelen let out a cruel, humorless laugh. "They're horrible people. They've pulled horrible 'pranks' on people since first year- bullied everyone that wasn't one of them- and they call us the evil ones." Breukelen brushed her hair from her neck. "Although I hear Potter's supposedly changed his ways, seen the light, and is trying to do good to make Evans fall in love with him. Absolutely incorrigible, he is."

"Evans?" Valyn asked, pondering on the rest of what Breukelen had said.

"Lily Evans, a mudblood, Gryffindor in our year. He's been chasing her since the first train ride here, and she hasn't had any of it, seeing what a downright pratt he's always been. But if she ditches Sev for one damn word but takes up Potter after six years of bullshit, she's hypocrite and a whore."

Valyn looked to Severus as soon as Breukelen said his name, and he tensed, looking away from the girls, face a strong of fury and sadness and bitterness. A sting of sympathy followed by a pang of curiosity made Valyn look away, thinking it all over. "I see," she said, completely unsure what else to say to that, unsure what to think about any of it.

They all- especially James- had seemed at least decent. Remus and Peter had barely been able to look at her; and they didn't seem to be the cruel sort. And James was so lively and outgoing, so kind, Valyn couldn't even imagine him bullying anyone. Sirius had been a bit bitter, but when he'd just been talking with his friends- the Marauders- he'd seemed so happy and so good, if you didn't count his little snap when he'd realised that she was at the Gryffindor Common Room with them- she didn't get what the big deal about that was anyways.

Just then, they arrived at the entrance to the Slytherin common room. Valyn muttered the password, and they all filed inside and found themselves two couches to occupy; the sisters on one, and Regulus and Evan on either side of Valyn on another, while Severus, Avery, and Nott walked on.

"Goodnight, Severus," Valyn said tentatively.

"Goodnight, Valyn," he muttered in return.

"So, what's the deal with Avery and Nott?" Valyn asked after they were long out of earshot.

"They're just a bit sketchy," Aithne said with a shrug. "Don't worry, you're not missing out on much as they're hardly interesting."

The group continued to talk about various people in their year, and Valyn tried to pay attention, but her mind kept drifting back to the Marauders, and Sirius in particular. She pet Attor absentmindedly, who had moved from her shoulder to her lap without her notice. Evan began to pet Attor as well, making Valyn mildly uncomfortable, but she wasn't quite sure why. Eventually, Cordelia announced that they should get some sleep; to which, Aithne began to argue that it was a Friday and there was no need, but they did indeed head to the dorms, anyway. The girls chatted from their respective beds, not seeming to care that Dolores was sleeping, but from the snores that sounded from her, Valyn couldn't seem to care.

Valyn was the first to actually lie down, drawing the curtains by her bed and curling into Attor, and the girls did actually quiet down, but still, sleep eluded her. Cordelia went to sleep, then Breukelen, and after Aithne had listened to music through a headset so loud that Valyn could almost make out the words for a while, Aithne went to sleep, as well.

Sighing often, Valyn tossed and turned, unable to shut her mind off for hours. Finally, hours later, she did manage to sleep, but it was a restless, dreamless series of waking, tossing and turning, and slipping under once more.

Beta read by LadyHallows


End file.
